| Birth: | Aug. 28, 1899 | | Death: | Aug. 26, 1978 | 
Actor. Born on August 28 (various sources say either 1897 or 1899) in Figeac, France, he was encouraged by his mother to develope his interest in theater and the cinema. World War I interrupted that pursuit, but he found his calling when a film crew came to his town to shoot a propaganda film. He was only an extra in a crowd scene, but it was enough. He left Figeac in 1918 to study at the Sorbonne, but soon found himself swept up in the ambiance of post-war Paris and the temptation was too much. In 1920 he landed a job as a replacement for the lead in a play after some of his friends told the director he could learn the part overnight. He could, he did, and he was a smash hit. He took advanced courses at the leading French dramatic school, La Conservatoire National Superior de Musique et de Déclamation, and by the end of the decade he was a major European star both on stage and screen. Hollywood beckoned despite the fact that, though he could speak four languages none of them was English, but it wasn't much of a handicap during the silent era. MGM kept him busy, and once sound came in he made foreign-language versions of US hits for overseas distribution while he polished his English. His first film in English was "The Man From Yesterday" (1932) opposite Claudette Colbert. Follow-up roles were unsatisfying, so he returned for a while to France but was lured back in 1935 to re-team with Colbert in "Private Worlds." By now his Continentally-flavored English was irresistible to audiences for romantic films. He played the doomed Prince Rudolph in "Mayerling" (1936) and a defrocked monk in "The Garden of Allah" (1936). He won Academy Award nominations for his performances in "Conquest" (1937), with Greta Garbo, "Algiers" (1938) with Hedy Lamarr [the one where he did NOT say "Come wiz me to zee Cahzbah"], and "Gaslight" (1944) with Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotton (an atypical villain role). In 1942, Boyer won a special Oscar for his "progressive cultural achievement in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference for the Hollywood motion picture industry." Throughout the '40s, '50s, and '60s he made a transition to character parts in appearances such as Dr. Monnot in "Is Paris Burning" (1966), Victor Velasco in "Barefoot in the Park" (1967) with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, Baron Jean Raoul in Alain Resnais' "Stavisky" (1974), and, both his and director Vincente Minelli's final film, "A Matter of Time" (1976), with Ingrid Bergman and Liza Minelli. Boyer's onscreen life was in contrast to life off-screen. He remained married to the same woman, his beloved wife Pat, for forty-four years. They had a son, but he committed suicide at the age of 21. Pat died of cancer on August 24, 1978, and after a couple of days to get his affairs in order, Charles followed her by taking an overdose of Seconal. (bio by: Paul F. Wilson)
Cause of death: Suicide (overdosed on seconal)
Search Amazon for Charles Boyer | | | Burial:
Holy Cross Cemetery
Culver City
Los Angeles County
California, USA
Plot: St. Ann Section, 5, L186 |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Jan 01, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 122 |
|
|
|
|
(4.5 after 189 votes)
